EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (Ticker) -- For the first two
minutes, it was the same old New Jersey Nets. For the next 46,
it was a new and improved version.

The Nets quickly climbed out of a 10-point hole and put together
their best game of the season, a 109-95 victory over the
road-weary Sacramento Kings that snapped a five-game losing
streak.

Stephon Marbury had 26 points and 14 assists as he thoroughly
outplayed Kings guard Jason Williams. Marbury scored 10 points
in the pivotal third quarter, when the Nets held the Kings to 25
percent shooting and took the lead for good.

"Any win is a plus because I hate losing," Marbury said. "When
you win it feels good and tonight I can sleep."

Marbury scored four points in a 9-0 burst that gave the Nets the
lead for good midway through the third period and triggered an
8-0 run late in the quarter that pushed the advantage to 80-67.
The lead remained at least double digits thereafter as New
Jersey avenged a 105-92 loss at Sacramento on November 23.

Keith Van Horn scored 27 points for New Jersey (3-15), which had
season highs in field goals (43), assists (25) and steals (13)
and fell three points short of its best output of the season.

"Keith played well tonight," Marbury said. "He took his shot
without hesitation. Usually, he'll hesitate and go to the
basket. But tonight, his shot was all one motion."

"The way Stephon moved the ball around, the way he used the
pick-and-roll, the way Keith got back his confidence to take the
shot and drop it was a really good sign," Nets coach Don Casey
said.

Chris Webber had 25 points and 14 rebounds for the Kings (11-4),
who sputtered after their quick start and completed a 2-3 road
trip. Sacramento had 24 turnovers, seven by Webber and four by
Williams, who battled foul trouble and scored only five points.

"I'm ready to go home," said Webber, who made just 6-of-19
shots.

The Kings did not look tired at the outset, racing to a 10-0
lead in the first two minutes and holding a 34-26 advantage
after one quarter. Corliss Williamson scored 12 points and
Webber added 11, slapping hands with a young boy in the first
row after a basket.

But Williamson didn't score again, Webber seemed content to
shoot jump shots and the rest of the Kings followed suit. They
scored only 35 points over the next two quarters as the Nets
took control.

"I feel I can play on the perimeter," the 6-10 Webber said. "One
of the reasons is I get doubled a lot in the post. I want to go
and see what's out there."

"We were scoring, but the second quarter we didn't move the
ball, we got lax," Kings coach Rick Adelman said. "The third
quarter was worse and it just spiraled from there."

The Kings held a 54-52 halftime lead and a fancy pass from
Williams to Webber made it 60-56 with 8:51 left in the third
quarter. Marbury hit a jumper and Van Horn made a three-point
play to give the Nets the lead and jumpers by Marbury and Kerry
Kittles boosted the advantage to 65-60 with 6:07 remaining.

The teams traded points for three minutes before New Jersey's
second surge. Marbury drove for a layup and Lucious Harris hit
consecutive 3-pointers for an 80-67 bulge with 1:38 to go.

"We played harder than them and wanted the game more," Marbury
said. "Everybody stepped up their games. ... Tonight we
communicated on defense and got to a lot of loose balls. We
played scrappy out there."

In the third quarter, Marbury made 5-of-9 shots while the Kings
made 6-of-24.

"We have a tendency to get real stagnant, take shots with no one
under the boards," Kings coach Rick Adelman said. "It's a real
problem we've had. We have quick-shot the ball."

Marbury rested at the beginning of the fourth quarter but Van
Horn made sure the Kings would not come back, scoring 12 points
in the period. His dunk with 5:31 to go gave the Nets their
largest lead at 97-80 and allowed his teammates and coach to
relax for the first time in nearly two weeks.

"It's been tough on the whole team, especially Steph and I,"
said Van Horn, who made 9-of-17 shots. "It feels like the world
was on our shoulders."

"It's been a long time coming," Casey said. "It felt really
good because they worked hard, and that makes a difference."

"This is how I know we can play," Feick said. "I thought
tonight was a total team effort and the defense was the key
because it started our offense. We have hung in there with some
tough teams, but if we had played more like tonight, we would
have more wins."

The Kings, the NBA's top offensive team, shot 41.5 percent
(34-of-82) and were held below 100 points for only the third
time this season.